Event Info
Starts: 27th May 2021
Course: Himmerland GC
Par: 71 (36-35)
Length: 6,751 yards
2020 Champion: N/A
Results
Overall Profit/Loss: -2pts
Pre-Event Bets: +2pts
0.5pts EW Julian Suri 100/1 - William Hill (1/5 1-6)
1pt EW Jason Scrivener 45/1 @ General (1/5 1-6)
0.5pts EW Max Kieffer 80/1 @ BetVictor (1/5 1-6)
0.5pts EW Eduardo Molinari 90/1 @ Skybet (1/5 1-6)
0.5pts EW Renato Paratore 100/1 @ Betfred (1/5 1-6)
0.5pts EW Soren Kjeldsen 110/1 @ Ladbrokes (1/5 1-8)
0.25pts EW Lasse Jensen 250/1 @ Ladbrokes (1/5 1-8)
0.25pts EW Lasse Jensen FIRST ROUND LEADER 200/1 @ Betfred (1/5 1-6)
In-Play Bets: -4pts
27 May 2021(-2pts)
0.75pts EW Romain Langasque 80/1 @ Skybet (1/5 1-5)
0.25pts EW Dimitri Papadatos 150/1 @ Skybet (1/5 1-5)
28 May 2021 (-2pts)
1pt EW Stephen Gallacher 66/1 @ Unibet (1/5 1-4)
Preview
Course Info
Designer: Renovated by Spogard and VanderVaart in 2012
Type of Course: Exposed, Undulating
Used Since: 2014. Event wasn't played here in 2018 and event was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid
Fairways: Average Width
Rough: Penal
Greens: Bentgrass, usually run around 10.6 on stimp
Water Hazards: N/A
Par 5's: 5th, 8th, and 11th
Premium on: Putting and playing in cooler conditions
Significant Info To Be Aware Of
Event was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid.
In 2019, the event was moved from August to May and followed the PGA Championship just like it does this week. Several players who played last week are teeing it up this week.
It hosted the Made in Denmark Challenge on the Challenge Tour in 2018.
Continue to exercise caution in relation to Covid-19 related withdrawals.
Weather Forecast
Rainy Monday through to Thursday which should mean softer conditions. From Friday onwards it should be dry with spells of sunshine. Wind is at it's strongest on Thursday and consistent over the weekend.
Thursday
Light rain showers and moderate breeze. Wind 17mph, gusts of 28mph
Friday
Sunny to partly cloudy. Wind 9mph, gusts of 15mph.
Saturday
Sunny to partly cloudy. Wind 11mph, gusts of 22mph.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy. Wind 9mph, gusts of 22mph.
Trends
Winning score
In the five times Himerland has hosted the winning score has ranged from -9 to -19. The last edition in 2019 was won with -14 and with a fair bit of wind forecast we should expect a similar score.
Winning Profile
The first thing to point out is that top ball strikers have mostly won here - Bernd Wiesberger, Julian Suri, Thomas Pieters, David Horsey and Mark Warren. Wiesberger was 378th in the world and his win was the first of three wins that season. Suri was 208th and had already won a Challenge Tour event that season. Pieters was 56th, Horsey was 263rd and Warren was 89th.
Correlating Courses
We can look to form in Austria or the UK as it should suit players who enjoy cooler conditions. The Albatross Golf Course in Czech Republic may be worth some digging too - Pieters has an excellent record there and Suri has form in Czech Republic also.
Course form
Wiesberger won on his debut in 2019, as did Julian Suri in 2017. Pieters had a previous 35th before his win and Horsey had a previous 39th. Preferred but not essential.
Recent form
Wiesberger had form figures of 70-14-23. Suri hadn't played in weeks but was 16th last start. Pieters arrived hot after a 2nd and 4th. Recent form is preferred over course form.
Nationality
No nationality has dominated here in recent years.
Stats Analysis
The course had some changes for the 2019 edition so we will assess the top 3's stats for it.
Driving Distance
87-91-19. Not a key stat this week.
Driving Accuracy
44-27-12. Driving Accuracy helps.
SG: Off the tee
99-12-19. Prefer a strong driver but not essential.
SG: Approach
3-15-54. Strong iron play was the key to success for Bernd.
SG: Around the greens
44-98-61. Not a key stat. HOWEVER, MacIntyre and Langasue (2nd and 3rd) ranked 2nd and 5th for SCRAMBLING.
SG: Putting
40-11-8. Strong putting is key around here. Even Bernd who ranked 40th ranked 1st Putts per GIR.
In Play
Tough Holes
In 2019, the Par 4 13th hole was the hardest, averaging 4.40. The par 4 18th was the hardest hole in 2017, averaging 4.42. It played 2nd toughest in 2019.
Birdie Holes
The 262 yard Par 4 14th was the easiest hole in 2019, averaging 3.42. Par 5's 5th and 8th played next easiest. Note the Par 5 11th actually played over par, averaging 5.12.
Fast or Slow Start
Every one of the Top 10 in 2019 began with a round of the 60's and none were further than 3 shots off the lead. We don't want to look too far down the leaderboard after day one.
Closing stretch
16th is a short par 3 followed by a shortish par 4 on 17. See above on 'tough holes' for the 18th.
In-play
Made in Himmerland In-Play Blog
29th May 2021, 9pm
Player | Total |
---|---|
Wiesberger | -14 |
Bjork | -13 |
Canter | -11 |
Six players tied | -10 |
Bernd Wiesberger was in danger of losing his lead after a level par front 9 but turned on the style coming back with four birdies. A dropped shot at the last means he takes a one shot lead into the final round.
The Austrian didn’t have his best stuff today but scrambled well including a chip in on the 12th. He hasn’t won since the 2019 Italian Open but will tee up tomorrow having the experience of leading by one here in 2019 and going on to win. It is difficult to see him throwing this away but he does have a talented pair on his heels.
Alexander Bjork is the closest challenger and is playing really solidly. He too hasn’t won since 2018 in China and hasn’t been in contention much either so it will be interesting to see if he suffers from any contention rust.
Laurie Canter is three behind Wiesberger and is chasing his maiden European Tour title. He spoke of his aggressive approach today and it may just suit him being the chaser. Odds of 9/1 are tempting but we rate Wiesberger and Bjork as front runners and for that reason he is swerved.
A group of six players are in 4th place, four shots off the lead. Those include Matthias Schwab, Richard Bland, Kurt Kitiyama and our pre-event selection Jason Scrivener. It’s possible someone from this group could go low but it’s a big ask given the quality of the front three.
For that reason we’re not going to get any more involved and cheer on Scrivener from off the pace but it looks set to be an entertaining battle at the front.
Round 4 Bet
- No Bet
28th May 2021, 9.30pm
Player | Total |
---|---|
Wiesberger | -11 |
Schwab | -9 |
Bjork | -8 |
Five players tied | -7 |
Bernd Wiesberger threatened to run away as he reached 12 under par, but played his last four holes in +1 to end up with a two shot lead over fellow Austrian Matthias Schwab. Alexander Bjork is one behind Schwab helped by a hole in one on his 16th hole.
We mentioned in yesterday's blog that there could be a bit of value in the 6/1 being offered for Wiesberger after day one but the congested leaderboard put us off. There is now considerable separation as only two players are within three of the lead so the rest of the field will need some help from the leaders to contend over the weekend.
Given the quality of these leader, it is difficult to picture someone coming from off the pace. Wiesberger is a multiple winner on tour, Schwab is a winner in waiting and Bjork is a past winner on tour in China. However, this is the European Tour so the unexpected can always happen.
There is a player in the group at seven under par who won’t be afraid to take the leaders on and he is our sole halfway selection.
Round 3 Bet
- 1pt Each Way Stephen Gallacher 66/1 @ Unibet (1/5 1-4)
Stephen is a four time winner on tour with his most recent victory coming in India in 2019. He won that week after a series of missed cuts, proving he can turn on the style out of nowhere. He arrived here in similar form, athough has managed 21st and 16th place finishes in five starts in 2021. He ranked in the top 20 for putting, greens in regulation and driving accuracy today so his all round game is in good nick. Take anything over 50/1 for the Scotsman.
27th May 2021, 9pm
Player | Total |
---|---|
Wiesberger | -5 |
Chang | -5 |
Bland | -5 |
Larrazabal | -5 |
Four players tied | -4 |
We have a five-way tie at the top after round one in Denmark after Bernd Wiesberger was able to join the four morning starters on 5 under par. The Austrian is defending his title from 2019 and is now 6/1 favourite to close from here.
We highlighted in the preview that 9 of the top 10 in 2019 were within two shots of the lead after the first round so we definitely want to be concentrating on the front of the leaderboard.
The weather forecast looks set to slightly favour the morning starters tomorrow and it was noticeable the greens firmed up in the afternoon today. Given those two bits of information, you could argue there is some value in the 6/1 for Wiesberger.
Putting us off is how congested the leaderboard is – 54 players are within four of the lead. Matthias Schwab and Laurie Canter are only one back and the likes of Thorbjorn Olesen and Joost Luiten only two.
However, the man who is most likely to cause Wiesberger trouble over the weekend is three behind and the only player in the field ranked higher – Robert MacIntyre. It will be interesting to see how both perform over the four days given they played in the PGA Championship last week.
Round 2 Bets
- 0.75pts Each Way Romain Langasque 80/1 @ Skybet (1/5 1-5)
Romain is three shots behind the leaders and if it wasn’t for his putter he would be right up there. The Frenchman hit 83% of greens in regulation which ranked 2nd in the field. He also ranked 2nd for driving distance and 30th for driving accuracy. Unfortunately for him he took 32 putts – three more than the field average. We should expect an improvement though – in 2019 he ranked 8th for the week for putting on his way to a 3rd place finish. Romain won last year in Wales which had similar conditions, so there is every reason to think he can contend.
- 0.25pts Each Way Dimitrious Papadatos 150/1 @ Skybet (1/5 1-5)
Skybet have mispriced the Australian with most firms offering 66/1. He is one back with an early start tomorrow. It's not the first time the big hitting Australian has performed well at this course either - he finished 4th here when it hosted a Challenge Tour event won by JB Hansen. He arrives on the back of a 12th and 23rd in his last two starts. The price might not last for long so snap it up while you can.